Understanding Different Employee Attitudes

By Allan Pulga

“All employees have attitudes that can positively – or negatively – affect the performance of your company,” says Will Helminger, senior director of human resources for Saber Software and HR columnist on the Inc.com/Monster Hiring Center.In the late ’90s, his company participated in an international study examining the attitudes of one job category. The study found that 92 per cent of top sales professionals in both the U.S. and Germany had the same key attitudes and motivations: Utilitarian, Theoretical and Individual/Political. “This compelling statistic revealed that appropriate attitudes and internal motivations impacted job performance,” says Helminger.Helminger proposes a four-step plan to help employers determine and gauge their employees’ attitudes, and subsequently, the possible effect they might have on the company:

1. Defining Attitudes“Attitudes are our hidden motivations, interests and values,” says Helminger. They drive behaviour. They are the standards and beliefs by which we act.Everyone is a combination of the following work-related attitudes, which are embedded into us at an early age:

• Utilitarian/Economic: “Every investment I make will yield a greater return in time and resources,” says this attitude. Functionality and usefulness are critical. Money is always a major component, so is eliminating wasted time - time is money! Stereotypical of many business people.
• Individual/Political: This attitude screams, “I control my own destiny!” These people are continually motivated to achieve the highest position and wield the greatest personal power. Their ultimate goal is to assert themselves and “win” – sometimes at any cost. Often defined as the “entrepreneurial attitude.”
• Theoretical: “I use my cognitive ability to discover and understand.” Hungry to learn, research and problem solve. Viewed as intellectuals, these people can engage in prolonged debates and conversations. Sometimes labelled “professional students.”
• Traditional/Regulatory: Rules and regulations are the foundation for this attitude. Places importance on clarity system and order, unity and tradition, and right and wrong. Can be considered judgemental, stubborn, structured, or even rigid.
• Social/Altruistic: Extremely sympathetic to others, exceptionally kind and place others interests above their own. Seeks ways to help or care for others personally and professionally. May be labelled as “humanitarians.”
• Aesthetic: Values form, beauty and harmony. Lives from the viewpoint of symmetry and grace, focuses on the subjective enjoyment of events. Works to create a world that satisfies their vision for living. Considered artists or creative-types.

• Utilitarian/Economic: What role does earning a significant income play in your job choices? In staying with a company?
• Individualism/Political: What role does being in control of a situation play in your job satisfaction?
• Theoretical: Describe the amount of time, energy and effort you need to master a subject or topic you currently know very little about.
• Traditional/Regulatory: Give me an example of a rule that you follow relative to managing or leading others. Why is this rule important to you?
• Social/Altruistic: What responsibilities does society have today to take care of others?
• Aesthetic: Describe the type of future you’d like to create for yourself.

3. Verifying the Attitudes“Evaluate the attitudes of applicants by administering an attitudinal assessment,” says Helminger. “This tool will clearly define his/her motivations and rank what attitudes are most and least important. You can even learn the keys how to effectively manage and motivate them; and define opportunities for their training and professional development.” Thus, you can eliminate much of the guesswork and objectively decide whether their attitudinal model is the one that best fits your business needs.

4. Benchmarking Job AttitudesThe final step: measuring what attitudes are necessary for job success.“The best way to measure the desired attitudes is by utilizing a computerized evaluation,” says Helminger. “This helps eliminate personal biases. With an objective benchmark, you can now compare a candidate against your desired job attitudes, and determine where gaps exist.“The wider the gap, the greater the chance the person won’t bring the right attitudes and motivations to your company,” he adds.